Hmmmmm. One the one hand "many transgender people....are not distressed by their cross-gender identification and should not be diagnosed with gender dysphoria."
But on the other hand, "distress in gender dysphoria is not an inherent part of being transgender....The distress that accompanies gender dysphoria arises as a result of a culture that stigmatizes people who do not conform to gender norms.."
So, some transgender people experience "distress" and some do not. But all the distress is due to external "stigmatizing" factors. And only those who experience distress can rightly be described as having "gender dysphoria." I must question these notions on at least three grounds:
1. It seems extremely improbable that some transgender people within a given culture are stigmatized while many others are not. The "stigma" is almost certainly the same within a culture, so "stigma" cannot be the cause of transgenderism allegedly morphing into gender dysphoria.
2. Other groups "stigmatized" by their cultures (blacks, gays, lesbians, women, etc etc) do not exhibit the very high suicide rate of transgenders. If "stigma" is the cause of the "distress" that leads to suicide, then those other groups being stigmatized should also have high suicide rates. And that is not the case.
3. There are cultures that have accepted transgenders and some that have recognized three genders for generations. The suicide rate of transgenders among them is essentially the same as in other cultures. So even with the stigma removed, the "distress" that results in suicide remains.
Last edited by KenV; 11th Aug 2017 at 18:30.